With two-time PBA MVP Danny Ildefonso still left unsigned after failing to come to terms with expansion team Blackwater Sports, current MVP and one-time teammate June Mar Fajardo is hoping that his former mentor’s basketball career hasn’t met its end just yet.

The veteran Ildefonso was left by mother club Meralco on its unprotected list prior to the PBA expansion draft, where he was selected by Blackwater. The two sides could not come to an agreement regarding salary, though, and Ildefonso was left without a contract.

The 24-year-old Fajardo, coming off a strong campaign with the Philippine national men’s basketball team in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, believes his old teammate still deserves to be in the PBA.